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Protect Your Process With The Proper Flame Arresters: Safety
Protect Your Process With The Proper Flame Arresters: Safety
Safety
S
torage tanks and other vessels containing flammable describes the different types of flame arresters, explains how
and/or explosive chemicals and mixtures are prevalent flame arresters are tested and certified for specific process
in chemical process industries (CPI) plants. Flame conditions, discusses the concept of layers of protection and
arresters are installed on such equipment to prevent potential how a flame arrester can serve as a layer, and offers guidance
hazards associated with flammable and explosive materials. on choosing a flame arrester. The article also explains why
For example, flame arresters can stop the spread of a fire, conservation vents do not provide reliable protection against
limit the spread of an explosive event, protect potentially atmospheric explosions (sidebar, p. 18), and why flame
explosive mixtures from igniting, and confine a fire within arrester elements made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) can
an enclosed, controlled location. extinguish a flame rather than melt or burn (sidebar, p. 20).
A flame arrester works by forcing a flame front through
very narrow channels. Gas travels through the device, but Key terminology
the passages are so narrow that the flame can no longer be International standards (10) define the combustion
maintained. processes relevant to flame arresters.
This article provides an overview of the use of flame Explosion is the generic term for an abrupt oxida-
arresters in the CPI. It defines some key terminology, tion or decomposition reaction that produces an increase
P
V
Velocity of the Flame Front
• a pre-volume deflagration, Pressure Buildup Caused by Volume
which is initiated by an internal L
Expansion of the Burned Mixture
Copyright © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) CEP December 2013 www.aiche.org/cep 17
Safety
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a deflagration arrester and a detonation 1.8
arrester depends on the distance between
1.6 2
the potential ignition source and the
(MESG), mm
1
the transition of a deflagration to a stable 5
7
1.0
detonation. Inline deflagration flame 8
arresters should be used only where 0.8 9 10
the L/D ratio is less than 50 for hydro
carbon/air mixtures and less than 30 for 0.6 12
hydrogen/air mixtures; detonation flame 11
0.4
arresters are used with longer lengths or
where the location of the ignition source 0.2
is not known. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
A third type of arrester, the pre- Gas or Vapor Concentration in Air, vol%
volume deflagration flame arrester, is
1 n-Hexane 5 Acetaldehyde 9 Dioxane
used in some applications to protect the 2 Methyl isobutyl ketone 6 Methane 10 Ethylene
surroundings against the negative impacts 3 Ethyl acetate 7 Hydrogen sulfide 11 Acetylene
of an internal vessel explosion. 4 Ethane 8 Propylene oxide 12 Carbon disulfide
Copyright © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) CEP December 2013 www.aiche.org/cep 19
Safety
Code (NEC) and International Electrotechnical Commission Group IIC can be used for Group IIB or IIA mixtures as
(IEC) groups as a function of MESG. These groups form well, but not the reverse.
the basis for selecting flame arresters. Common practice is to select flame arresters that have
Flame arresters are tested with mixtures of vapors/gases been approved based on MESG tests at standard atmo-
in the different explosion groups, and based on the results spheric conditions, without regard for the effects of pres-
of those tests are approved for a specific vapor group — sure, temperature, and oxygen concentration on the reactiv-
IIA (NEC Group D), IIB (NEC Group C), or IIC (NEC ity of the explosive gas mixture. Flame arresters tested at
Group B). The engineer then chooses a flame arrester with ambient conditions can be used at operational temperatures
the appropriate approval level. For example, hexane has up to 60°C (140°F) and operational pressures up to 1.1 bar
an MESG of 0.93 mm, making it a Group IIA vapor, so a absolute (15.95 psia). If the working conditions are above
Group IIA-certified deflagration arrester should be used. these values, flame arresters that have been specifically
Arresters approved for one vapor group can be used tested for the actual conditions are needed. Figures 8 and 9
for a lower group (i.e., mixtures with a higher MESG), but illustrate the effect of pressure and temperature on MESG.
arresters approved for a lower group are not suitable for
a higher vapor group. For instance, a device certified for Layers of protection
CPI plant safety relies on layers of protection — i.e.,
3.2 independent measures that reduce the likelihood of an
adverse event or the consequences of such an event should
CH4
C6H14 it occur, by control, prevention, or mitigation. Layers of
2.4 protection include basic process monitoring and automation
systems, alarms to trigger operator intervention, emergency
Gap Width, mm
H2
How can Flame Arrester Elements
0.8 Made of PTFE Extinguish a Flame?
S tatic flame arresters operate by cooling a flame as it
flows through the arrester elements to such an extent
that the temperature of the gas mixture falls below the igni-
0 1.2 2.4 3.6
tion point on the side being protected. In other words, the
1/P, bar–1
rate of heat diverted through the boundary layer to the flame
p Figure 8. As pressure increases, the maximum safe gap gets smaller. arrester element is much greater than the heat added by the
combustion reaction.
But the flame arrester element itself experiences very
1.1 little warming, because it is subjected to a high temperature
for an extremely short period of time — a few microseconds.
1.0 Heat transfer is almost exclusively by convection/diffusion.
CH4 Conduction through the element occurs only after the flame
0.9 has been dissipated. This occurs more slowly in polytetra-
Gap Width, mm
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arresters are commonly employed as one of
End-of-Line
these layers of protection. Endurance Burn
Combustor
Arrester
Hazardous areas in a CPI plant are clas-
sified into zones according to the frequency Layer 1
and duration of the presence of an explosive Layer 3 Layer 2
Gas Jet
Pump
atmosphere: Detonation Deflagration
Arrester Arrester
• Zone 0 is an area where an explosive
atmosphere is always present, or is frequently
present for long periods of time. Waste Gas
Zone 0 TIS+A+
• Zone 1 is an area where an explosive
atmosphere is sometimes present.
• Zone 2 is an area where an explosive Control
Unit
FIS-A
atmosphere is rare or is present only for short
periods of time.
Similarly, an ignition source may be present Inert Gas Motive Gas
always, sometimes, rarely, or never.
Taken together, these two factors deter- Figure 10. A Zone 0 waste-gas incineration process requires three layers of protection.
mine how many layers of protection must be
provided to guard against flame transmission, as shown in Table 2. The likelihood of an explosive atmosphere
Table 2. The selection of those safety measures depends on and an ignition source being present determine the
the specific process. number of layers of protection that need to be provided.
Figure 10 depicts a waste-gas incinerator classified as Explosive Atmosphere
Zone 0, because the combustor operates around the clock Ignition Always Sometimes Rarely
and is a permanent ignition source. Thus, according to Source (Zone 0) (Zone 1) (Zone 2) Never
Table 2, three independent protection measures are required: Always 3 2 1 0
1. The first layer of protection is flow control on the
Sometimes 2 1 0 0
air/nitrogen feed lines to the burner inlet nozzle. This main-
tains flow to the burner in case the waste gas flowrate drops Rarely 1 0 0 0
below the low-flow setpoint. Never 0 0 0 0
2. The second layer of protection is an inline deflagra-
tion flame arrester installed as close as possible to the will allow an equivalent air flowrate to be calculated for
ignition source. This should be a temperature-monitored pressure-drop determination.
deflagration flame arrester that can detect a stabilized flame 4. Flowrate. This should be stated in volumetric terms,
on the flame-arresting element. or sufficient information should be provided to allow a
3. The third layer of protection is a detonation flame volumetric flowrate to be calculated. For storage tank
arrester installed in line with the potential ignition source. applications, give the inbreathing and outbreathing require-
Monitoring of the oxygen concentration in the incoming ments, or sufficient information on the tank type, pressure
waste gas (not shown) could be added as an option. resistance shape, dimensions, and filling and emptying rates
These three independent measures ensure a high level to allow these parameters to be calculated.
of safety. 5. Temperature ranges. Provide the maximum and mini-
mum temperatures for both design and operating conditions
Choosing an effective flame arrester to allow the correct flame arrester element and mechanical
To select the appropriate flame arrester for your design of the arrester’s housing to be determined.
application, provide the following information to the 6. Pressure ranges. Supply the maximum and minimum
manufacturer: pressures for both design and operating conditions. This
1. Service. Briefly describe the intended use for the information is also used (along with the temperature ranges)
flame arrester. to determine the correct flame arrester element and mechan-
2. Analysis of gases or vapors. Supply details of all ical design of the housing. The maximum pressure at which
flammable and nonflammable components so that the explo- a flammable mixture can ignite in the process should be
sion group can be identified and the correct flame arrester highlighted if this is different from the normal operating
design and materials of construction can be selected. pressure. For storage tank applications, give both pressure
3. Molecular weight or density of the gas or vapor. This and vacuum requirements.
Article continues on next page
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Safety
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